Two in the Box
Two in the Box is the second episode in the Season 3 of the HBO series Silicon Valley, and the twentieth episode overall. It originally aired on May 1, 2016. Plot While Pied Piper's new and improved offices and perks impress Dinesh and Gilfoyle, Richard worries that his vision has been compromised, especially after hearing from Jack's newly-hired sales team. Jared faces issues evicting renters from his condo, while a frustrated Erlich struggles to get rid of Jian-Yang. Gavin suggests a controversial move at Hooli.HBO schedule Synopsis Richard meets with his doctor to discuss the results of a blood test, and the doctor tells him he’s in perfect health. Richard mentions he has a new boss at Pied Piper, and how he enjoys having someone else deal with the parts of the business that used to drive him crazy. The doctor mocks Richard for ceding control of his company, and suggests he perform a testicle check -- to make sure Richard still has them. Jack Barker shows Richard and the guys around their hip new office space -- and the new Pied Piper company logo, which he failed to consult Richard about. Richard worries they can’t afford the space, but Jack takes him aside and reminds him how Google’s amenities attracted the best talent in the business. With Pied Piper on its feet, Jared announces he’s moving out of Noah’s guest house and back into his condo, which he’s been renting out on Airbnb. When Jared arrives at his condo he finds his tenant, Ludwig, is still there, claiming he can’t afford to live in the area because people like Jared have raised the cost of living. Ludwig refuses to leave, so Jared begins the long, expensive process of eviction. At Hooli, Gavin suggests his engineers alter the company's algorithm so it won’t show negative search results about him, but backtracks when they suggest it’s a terrible idea. The execs, however, tell the remaining Nucleus team they must see the idea through, or else quit and abandon their severance packages. The next day, Richard and the guys head to the new Pied Piper offices and find a whole crew of salespeople milling about. Richard questions whether they should build the platform first, but Jack says no, referencing his “conjoined triangles of success” business model. Erlich shows the Hacker Hostel to a new tenant, and later tries to kick out Jian-Yang so that a new incubee can move into his old room. Jian-Yang doesn’t take the news well and starts freaking out. Later, after Erlich unwittingly reveals why Jared is moving back into the garage, Jian-Yang decides to use California’s tenant laws to his own advantage and also refuses to move out. Richard shares the plans for the platform with the sales team, but they reveal Jack has decided it will be a business-facing, rather than consumer-facing, product. When Richard confronts Jack about yet another decision he made without consulting him, Jack reminds him they’re in a bubble and don’t have four years to wait before they turn a profit. He does promise that no matter what happens, he’ll never compromise the product. As Nucleus scrubs the net of Gavin references, they realize how to make Nucleus even faster. They decide they’ll take their new plan elsewhere since they were fired by Hooli. At Pied Piper, the sales team pushes Richard to remove the neural net from the platform -- along with everything else that makes it cool -- in order to sell it more easily to businesses. Richard loses it and seeks out Jack at his horse ranch in Sonoma, where he’s actively breeding horses. He reminds Jack of his promise not to compromise the product and demands he back him up. Instead, Jack explains Pied Piper’s product isn’t the platform -- it’s the stock -- and they’ll do whatever it takes to make its value go up. Back at the office, the sales team shows Richard their sales reel, and it’s all wrong: “What if there was a way to take all of your company’s data and back it up completely isolated from the world at large?” it asks. They reveal the plan to create a dull-looking black metal box that looks like a VCR. Richard is mortified to discover Pied Piper is no longer a platform, but physical hardware.Official Site Gallery References Category:Season 3 Category:Season 3 Episodes